Get Real: Talking mental health & disability

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Hearing voices is often assumed to be a symptom of a mental health condition. However this is not always the case and up to 1 in 10 people hear voices, making it not an uncommon human experience. 

The Voices Vic program is led by peers with lived and living experience in hearing voices, seeing visions or having other sensory experiences. This program offers recovery groups, mentoring and support across Victoria.

Our guests for this episode are Janet Karagounis, Senior Peer Mentor and Tali Brash, AOD & Mental Health, L...

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Our guest for this episode is Dr Matt Frize, Director of Forensic Disability Services, which sits within The Victorian State Government's Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).

Co-host Karenza Louis-Smith and I were lucky to catch some time with Matt at the Complex Needs Conference earlier this year.

The sold out conference was co-hosted by ermha365 and ACSO Australia and funded by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

We talk to Matt, a senior specialist psychologist, about how Forensic Disability Services...

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We’re diving into the topic of conspiracy theories for this episode, particularly on the impacts these beliefs have on an individual and the ripple effect on others. 

Our guests for this episode are Ariel Bogle and Cam Wilson who have written a book called CONSPIRACY NATION: Exposing the dangerous world of Australian Conspiracy Theories. 

Ariel is an investigative journalist at the Guardian Australia who specialises on technology, extremism and internet policy.

Cam is an Associate Editor at Crikey and his reporting and investigations focus on the inte...

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Our guest for this episode is Dr Yvonne Maxwell, a forensic psychologist who specialises in working with individuals with a disability who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Get Real spoke with Yvonne at the Complex Needs Conference 2025 where she presented on the use of Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics assessment (NMT) to understand the interplay between factors like disability, trauma, and the current circumstances of a person with complex needs. 

if you are not a clinician or familiar with this, like m...

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The mental health system in New South Wales has been in the spotlight of recent months. ABC’s recent Four Corners episode “Emergency” about the state’s mental health system highlighted the extreme system failures that happen when there is underinvestment in community-based mental health care. The program highlighted that people in deep psychological distress are being left in emergency departments for days, health workers are exhausted and the “missing middle”— those too unwell for a GP but not sick enough for hospital — are being left behind.

Our guest for this episode is Dr Ev...

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The basis for this conversation is an important pilot service in Victoria called Assertive Outreach and Support (AOS), funded by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing under its Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative.
ermha365 and ACSO Australia deliver the service in parts of Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Our guests for this episode are Cassandra Turnbull from ermha365 and Psychiatrist Dr Debra Wood, from Clarity Healthcare, who provides clinical governance for the team.
As well as hearing about why there is a need for this program, you'll also hear about...

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In this episode we are discussing the importance of provider-family partnerships for people with complex needs.
Cheryl Jameson is our guest and she was in conversation with Emily Webb, host of this podcast, at the Complex Needs Conference in late March for the lived experience stream.
A mental health support worker of many years, Cheryl found herself on the other side of systems when her eldest child Josh was 16 and developed psychosis. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, which was drug-resistant for many years.  
We discover how her family has navigated s...

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We are a few weeks on from The 2025 Australian federal election (May 3) which resulted in a more than convincing victory for the incumbent Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. So, as the federal government begins its new term, and we await the Victorian Government's State Budget next week (May 20),  ermha365 CEO Karenza Louis-Smith  thought it was a good time to catch up with Mental Health Victoria's CEO Phillipa Thomas to talk about what mental health reform and investment will look like for Australia.

Mental Health Victoria...

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This is another conversation from the Complex Needs Conference 2025 and our guest is Adjunct Associate Professor Danny Sullivan, Consultant Forensic and Adult Psychiatrist.

Dr Sullivan gave a keynote at the conference about the prescribing of psychotropic medications, which are namely drugs that influence a person's mood, thoughts, and behavior - for people with complex needs.

He is the Board Director of ACSO Australia and Director of Victoria's Sentencing Advisory Council.

This episode was recorded at the Complex Needs Conference in Melbourne  co-hosted in M...

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ermha365 CEO Karenza Louis-Smith has a thought-provoking conversation with Clinical Forensic Psychologist Dr Lisa Warren, Clinical Director of Code Black Psychology about the Stable Bases Model that the organisation developed to support young people involved in serious youth-to-youth violence to guide their developmental journey and foster long-term positive outcomes. 

This episode was recorded at the Complex Needs Conference in Melbourne  co-hosted by ermha365 and ACSO Australia with support from Swinburne University's Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science and funded by th...

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Sophie Harrington is our guest for this episode. Sophie is the CEO of NOFASD Australia, the nation’s peak body supporting people and families living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

NOFASD presented at the Complex Needs Conference 2025 on the complexities of this hidden disability, sharing research, therapeutic strategies and resources, in particular for health care professionals and support workers.

NOFASD Helpline 1800 860 613

ermha365 co-hosted the conference with ACSO Australia on behalf of Victoria Government’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), whic...

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Andrew Radford lives in New South Wales and is a long-time advocate for people with intellectual disability and autism.

Andrew himself has autism and a mild intellectual disability and has recently taken his advocacy to the next level with his appointment to the board of The Disability Trust. The trust is not-for-profit registered NDIS provider of supports and services and  last year it celebrated its 50 years!

The Disability Trust has been part of Andrew’s life for more than 20 years in many ways, including education and employment support.

A...

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The Complex Needs Conference 2025 on March 26-27 in Melbourne is co-hosted by ermha365 and ACSO – Australian Community Support Organisation. The conference is funded by the Victorian Government’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

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 Both ermha365 and ACSO deliver the pilot program Assertive Outreach and Support on behalf of the DFFH. This service is for people with complex needs who are experiencing significant service barriers. 

Our guest is Associate Professor, Dr Armon Tamate...